Wachiwit / Shutterstock.com
Chris Columbus directed the first two Harry Potter movies. He’s known for fun family films like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire.
But guess what? David Fincher, a director famous for thrillers like Seven and Zodiac, talked to Warner Bros. about directing Harry Potter.
Fincher’s movies are often dark and intense. So, he wanted his take on J.K. Rowling’s world to be “kind of creepy.”
He pitched an idea similar to Withnail and I, a quirky British comedy. Warner Bros., however, was thinking more along the lines of the musical Oliver!
“I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do Harry Potter,” Fincher told Variety. “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like Withnail and I, and I want it to be kind of creepy… They were like, ‘We want Thom Browne schooldays by way of Oliver.’”
Interestingly, the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, embraced a darker tone.
Cuarón is known for films like Children of Men and Gravity. His unique style brought a new depth to the series.
Mike Newell took over for Goblet of Fire. Then David Yates directed the final four films.
Now, HBO is planning a reboot series set for 2026.
Oh, and did you know Alfonso Cuarón also made Roma…
